Missing Maths Teacher

it is not a black and white situation, more like 50 shades of grey.

It will never be black and white but in order to have some semblence of law and order there must be a limit beyond which you must not go, and setting 16 as the limit is that point. He can't claim he didn't know this, and so he (like everyone else) will be defined by whether or not he goes further than that point. Whatever you call him it is up to you.

kaffeeg..  I don't think anyone is disagreeing with you, but its not necessarily as black and white as you suggest...   we have to wait for the facts to come out...  for example..:

• what if they deny having had any sexual contact..?
• what if she says that he never took her, but that she had run away from home of her own free will and that hi decision to go too was a last minute decision of his own - ie: it wasn't planned by him?
• what if she defends him on every charge..?
• the fact that she is almost 16 does change the circumstances rather than if she had been 12, and there is plenty of case law to show that the Courts are more lenient.  It doesn't change his responsibility as a teacher, but if there is no sexual contact then the charges against him are presumably less severe?

If its actually been more innocent than it looks, then I can see him walking away without a prison sentance.   He has been stupid and his career and reputation is done in, and that is something that is now probably irrecoverable...

The fact he has broken the law is black and white - the punishment he deserves is not - I think that's the real point of argument.   I imagine most of us (if not all) agree that he knew he was doing wrong - but probably differ on the degree of wrong that was done.

I think he's innocent until proven guilty? With this amount of guilt assumption will a fair trial be possible?? I don't think what has been read in news reports counts as evidence...

Peter Everitt wrote (see)

I think he's innocent until proven guilty? With this amount of guilt assumption will a fair trial be possible?? I don't think what has been read in news reports counts as evidence...

I think he's guilty.

Of course he is already guilty, he went abroad with a known minor, against her parents wishes. Therefore he's technically guilty of an abduction, as to whether or not they had sex it's immaterial, he has breached a fundamental Teacher/Pupil relationship and so will inevitably end up jailed, sacked and blacklisted for the rest of his days. 12 months from now he'll be on a protected wing, and she'll be about 17 starting a new life at college, with new friends and he will be conveniently forgotten, while she giggles about the time she was in the news. Sad, cynical but true. Let's hope it's lessons learned.